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Will
Maneka lose animal portfolio? PM to sort out
Jayashree
Padmini - New Delhi
If
the Health Ministry finds its way, biomedical research in the country
may be delinked from under the purview of CPCSEA (Committee for
the Purpose of Control & Supervision of Experimentation on Animals).
HM has communicated to the Prime Minister the urgent need to ensure
a speedy processing mechanism for animal experimentation for biomedical
research. Informed sources said that the PM is calling a meeting
with the two ministers, Dr C P Thakur and Maneka Gandhi, shortly
to sort out the discord.
HM
has suggested to the PM that biomedical research should be separated
from the control of CPCSEA and an expert committee should be constituted
to monitor and approve animal experimentation, said sources. The
formation of this committee is yet to be worked out but sources
say this would have representation from the department of health,
department of science and technology, department of biotechnology,
DCGI, ICMR and CSIR.
However,
Maneka Gandhi told EPP that biomedical research will not be removed
from the control ofCPCSEA and there is immediate need to ensure
the quality of research rather than numbers. CPCSEA has recently
organised a full day seminar on State of Animal Houses in the country
and has outlined an action plan to take on the irrationalities in
drug research in Indian institutions. Three separate committees
have been formed to address the various issues the country has to
tackle with regard to animal research.
The
committee on Alternatives & Harmonisation with Global Guidelines
would, apart from evolving alternative strategies in research, review
existing norms of testing recognised by Indian Pharmacopoeia and
DCGI to bring these in line with global trends as reflected in the
US Pharmacopoeia, British Pharmacopoeia, OECD guidelines and WHO
directives on an ongoing basis and keep CPCSEA apprised on a quarterly
basis.
The
Health Ministry has also recognised the need towards this direction
and retained the Delhi-based Biomedical Research Team to bring out
the report to this effect, said Maneka Gandhi. Accreditation of
the animal facilities has been identified as immediate priority
and a committee to look into this issue also has been constituted.
Further,
the animal facilities across the country need to frame action plan
to upgrade against specific time frame, segregate capital intensive
and neutral measures and prioritize remedial measures and assess
resource & training requirements. This report need to be submitted
to the CPCSEA secretariate within three months time.
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